


On the Ground

by 4racha



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Rock Band, Ambiguous Relationships, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Mutual Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-27
Updated: 2020-07-27
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:28:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,312
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25249198
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/4racha/pseuds/4racha
Summary: Jisung and Felix thought starting a band would be easy. Life proved to them that it was anything but easy. At least they have each other to keep themselves grounded.
Relationships: Han Jisung | Han & Hwang Hyunjin & Kim Seungmin & Lee Felix, Han Jisung | Han/Lee Felix
Comments: 2
Kudos: 25
Collections: STRAY KIDS BIGBANG: 2020





	On the Ground

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to the mods and to everyone who encouraged me throughout the writing process. And a special shoutout to the artist for making such an awesome [artpiece](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1I7FW9vZRc3-H770eCKww5ZuR0QwV_gma/view) to go along with it!

It’s Saturday.

Jisung grunted as he slowly opened his eyes, only to be blinded for a few seconds with the sunlight from the window. He hissed at how the cheap nylon curtains barely kept the room to a dimly lit setting as it was supposed to, but they got what they paid for, he thought. His thoughts were interrupted when he realized that there was a loud and constant knock on the door. He groaned but sat up from the bed and looked over at Felix.

Felix was fast asleep next to him, which put a smile on Jisung's face before he heard the hard knock at the door again. The light coming through from the window was enough for Jisung to see the room clearly as he trudged to the foyer and slipped on a pair of bunny slippers (Felix's) before he pulled the locks off the door and poked his head out.

“Room service,” Jeongin hummed as he held a pair of towels in his arms against his chest. “Your hair is a mess… maybe you should get a haircut while you're at it.”

“Ha, very funny, Jeong,” Jisung ruffled his own hair and squinted as his eyes adjusted to how bright the hallway was compared to his room. “What time is it anyway?”

“Ten-thirty,” Jeongin replied as he rolled his cart over to the doorway as he left it at their neighbour's door down the hall.

“Shit,” Jisung hissed. “Didn't you see the ‘do not disturb’ sign hanging on the door?” He saw the blank and judgmental look on Jeongin’s face and Jisung slowly tilted his head to look at the outside doorknob and saw no sign hanging on it. He sighed, disappointed in himself for forgetting to put it on the night before. “...Touché.”

“I came all the way here with this cleaning cart, Hyung,” he stated as he tapped the handle of his service cart with the feather duster he pulled out of his back pocket. “Am I cleaning your room or not?”

Jisung ran his right hand over his face as his left hand was still holding onto the inside doorknob. “Obviously, no.”

“Are you sure? Felix hyung isn't the cleanest person in the world you know.”

“Believe me, I know,” Jisung groaned. “Just skip us. You can clean up tomorrow morning though, we won't be here.”

“Oh?” Jeongin raised an eyebrow as he was pushing the cart towards the next room over. “Are you two going somewhere?”

Jisung nodded as he yawned. “We have a gig tomorrow,” he replied as he rubbed his eyes with the palm of his hands. He squealed when Jeongin swatted the feather duster at him, reminding Jisung that rubbing his eye was bad for his vision. Jisung rolled his eyes once more. “Anyway, we're heading out tonight since it's pretty far.”

“Good, I can finally wash those sheets that Felix hyung keeps telling me not to bother with,” Jeongin jokes. They waved at each other as a farewell gesture as Jeongin walked down the hallway and Jisung pulled himself back into the hotel room.

He closed and locked the door behind him before he walked back to the main space where he saw Felix sprawled over their shared bed. He chuckled. “Han?” a tired Felix mumbled into his pillow. Slowly turning, Felix smiled sleepily as Jisung sat down on the edge of the bed. “Was that Jeongin?”

“Yeah, but I told him he can't clean our room today.”

“Good,” Felix hummed in bliss as he rolled onto his side to talk to Jisung properly. His eyes smiled as well before he opened them to see Jisung. “I hope he doesn't wash these sheets. I like how they smell.”

“That's disgusting,” Jisung chuckled.

Felix sat up without bothering to fix his bed hair and stretched his arms in the air as Jisung stood up from the bed to properly open the curtains. Felix hissed as the sun completely filled the room with light as opposed to the softly lit atmosphere. After adjusting to the new light setting, Felix saw Jisung rolling their luggage to the entry table near the foyer. “Packing already? We leave tonight, don’t we?”

“It's good to be prepared,” Jisung hummed. “Can you bring the instruments here?” 

Jumping off of the mattress, Felix quickly grabbed the two guitar cases by the balcony window. He peeked through and smiled at how pretty the city looked in the morning. The sound of the cars driving past and the birds chirping made the scenery somewhat magical. He walked the cases over to Jisung. They both practically screamed when Felix accidentally lost his grip of his case and it fell to the floor. 

Jisung sighed as he watched Felix quickly kneel down and open the guitar case to make sure the instrument wasn’t damaged, which it thankfully was not. “We need a new case for you,” Jisung sighed. “The outside of the case is getting so fucked up.”

“So do you,” Felix commented as he looked up after closing and locking his case up. He pointed at Jisung’s case that Jisung moved next to his luggage. “That thing is so torn up. I told you a fabric case was a bad investment.”

“It was what they had at the time,” Jisung argued as he pouted before walking over to the mini fridge. He opened it and grabbed two water bottles before closing it. He threw one at Felix who squealed as he caught it by surprise, causing Jisung to snicker. “My guitar has held up thus far, I think it can survive in that case another few months.”

“More like a few days,” Felix mumbled to himself as he twisted the cap off the bottle and took a sip. “Actually, it’s a good thing we packed already,” he hummed. “We can finally put up flyers for a wanted bassist and drummer.”

Jisung was about to comment on that idea before he saw Felix rush over to his backpack and quickly unzip it to reveal flyers he had already printed out for the occasion. “You planned this out already?” Jisung asked as he was handed half of the stack.

“Yeah,” Felix nodded. “That way you wouldn't reject it since I was already one step ahead,” he hummed, with a teasing tone. 

Jisung rolled his eyes, but what was done was done and all he could do is agree to the idea. They headed out of the hotel room and down the corridor to the elevators. Once the doors opened and they headed inside, Felix taped one on top of the buttons as the elevator was heading to the lobby. Jisung was trying to contain his laughter and decided not to remind Felix that the concierge hated flyers in the elevator.

Felix skipped out happily and waved at the concierge, Lee Minho, as he walked by. Minho grunted and gave a half-assed wave before he saw Jisung. “I don't know how you deal with him,” Minho groaned as he had a phone (on hold, Jisung presumed) to his left ear and held a pen with his right hand against a notepad. 

Jisung shrugged with a chuckle. “You get used to it,” he replied nonchalantly as he carried the flyers in his arms against his chest. Minho grimaced at Jisung before turning his attention back to his call. As he walked through the revolving door, Jisung blinked as he had lost sight of Felix. Grunting, he looked around to see if he could see an excited looking figure wearing a distinct neon jacket—the yellow one with pink and blue accent colours that Felix always wears. 

—

Han Jisung and Felix Lee had a peculiar and out-of-the-ordinary lifestyle, but it was what they had developed and adapted to now. After deciding to form a band together with two years of college and associate degrees under their belts, Jisung and Felix sold almost all of their possessions except a few clothes, hygienic essentials, and their guitars to chase their passion of performing. They were music pioneers, determined to fulfill their niche as travelling musicians writing and releasing original compositions while also playing covers. 

Because they were just starting their careers with nothing but the shirt on their backs and their instruments, they lived in Jisung's car for the beginning of their journey. However, there was a stroke of luck when someone from the audience after one of their shows offered them boarding and lodge at his father's hotel suite.

Lee Minho, son of the Lee Suite’s founder and CEO, said that they only needed to pay with their weekly service of music entertainment at the bar every Thursday night, or whenever Minho requested. Felix and Jisung agreed immediately without a second thought, and it proved to be one of the best decisions they have ever made not only for their livelihoods but also their passion. The live music hour at the hotel during Happy Hour proved to be the perfect platform to get their names known in the area.

After about six months working at the hotel, they were allowed to perform other nights at the hotel as well as out-of-town gigs to their own accord as Minho granted them permission with a more free schedule. It was truly a great opportunity for them. However, Jisung realized that they could only go so far as two guitarists. Without a full band, they would only be able to settle with cafe and bar gigs compared to performing for a bigger audience at local park venues or in competitions for that matter.

Although they both tried to pick up other instruments, it proved to be difficult. Their focus was now to get a full band together while performing to get publicity and money and also writing new music in their freetime. It proved to be a challenge, but that's never stopped them before.

—

It’s Sunday.

“The next performers I've known for quite some time.” Chan hummed as he was holding the wireless microphone in his right hand as his left hand was pointing to the two: Jisung plugging in their acoustic guitars into their respective amplifiers and Felix sitting on the bar stool the local restaurant provided for the performers as he was tuning his guitar quietly. “And they finally decided that they were worthy enough to perform at this fine eatery,” he joked, earning a laugh from the audience. 

After properly introducing them—subtly letting them properly prepare their instruments and mindsets—Chan gave Felix and Jisung the stage. Chan was nice enough to pull out two chairs with the microphone stands for them prior to their introduction so it would make getting ready much easier. The audience for the evening was a pretty decent sized crowd, Jisung observed. Felix was tuning his guitar and looked over as Jisung was just looking across the place to see the amount of people. 

Sitting down, Felix kicked Jisung’s foot with his own. Jisung looked up and saw Felix’s smile of reassurance. Felix knew Jisung was always the one to see how many people listened to them because he was always worried that maybe they weren’t good enough. But Jisung was fortunate to have Felix with him to remind them that they’re still at the beginning of their musical journey.

They played two of the songs they composed themselves and Felix grinned proudly when he saw the audience enjoying the musical atmosphere they created. After their third song, Felix was the one who grabbed the microphone to thank everyone for listening to them. However, he could feel the dryness in his throat as soon as he heard the feedback from the speakers. He knew everyone was looking at him, waiting to speak, but he just could not get the words out of his mouth. 

Jisung came in at the perfect time and patted Felix’s hand and let Felix hand him over the mic. “We want to thank you all for enjoying and listening to our music,” Jisung began. Felix sighed in relief, happy that Jisung was always willing to be the talker between the two of them. However, he did feel somewhat disappointed with himself. He had the words to speak to others, but Felix always found it difficult to take them out of his mouth.

The audience clapped as the two left the stage with their guitars and started packing them in their respective cases on the side of the stage as Chan introduced the next musical performer to the stage. Felix and Jisung felt lucky that they had a friend like Chan to always help them when it came to publicity. Chan walked down the stage as the other musician started playing. He nudged the two of his friends to follow him to the back room to the office. They followed, leaving their instruments behind and as soon as they entered the room, Chan clapped proudly before giving them each a hug.

“You guys have really improved,” Chan grinned. He was patting Jisung’s back who was smiling humbly at him. “I really thought you were going to play that one song back from your freshman year,” he joked.

“We were going to,” Jisung replied, “but, we just wrote these two songs a couple months ago. Thought we should see how people like them.”

Chan hummed in contentment. “They were lovely.” He went over to his desk to organize a few papers and checked his phone, seeing that he has to go out in a few minutes when the stage performance is over. “I do think the two of you couple improve though.” Jisung and Felix looked at each other silently before looking back at Chan. Chan looked up and saw their scared expressions and let out a hardy laugh. “No, no! I didn’t mean it like that. I think it would take your band higher if you guys got more band members. That’s what I’m saying.” Jisung sighed in relief while Felix patted his chest, probably because his heart started beating fast from the anxiety.

Felix pouted. “We’ve been trying to put flyers out to see if anyone wants to audition for the band. Nobody ever really responds though.”

“Well, there was this one uncle who called us for an audition,” Jisung interrupted, “but was hoping that his son could join with his cello. It was hard saying no to him. Very persistent.” The other two laughed and Jisung gave Chan a small smile. “We’re hoping you had ideas?”

“Ever think of auditions?” Chan asked. He gestured towards the door, a signal that he has to get on with the open mic night. The two walked out before Chan, who locked the door, and walked back to the main area of the restaurant. “Maybe ask Minho if you could hold auditions at the hotel? I’m sure he won’t mind, especially because that means he’d get more people buying from that little bar lounge of his.” Chan snickered.

“That sounds like Minho’s language alright,” Jisung jokes.

Chan grinned. “Who knows—maybe you guys will find new lifelong friends.” The two laughed at Chan’s comment. Truthfully, they just needed a new band member, whether they be a friend or not. Because they know that they at least had one another.

—

It’s Sunday again.

Jisung was tapping the pen on the table anxiously as Felix was reviewing the notes he wrote on the people they had seen already. They’ve seen at least a dozen or so people already. The auditions proved to be more successful than anticipated. It might have been because Minho knows how people who can help advertise, but Jisung and Felix were surprised to see a line that not only reached out from the lounge to the lobby, the line went out the door.

"Fuck. Hyung, did you tell them this was paid? Because we can't guarantee that…" Jisung whispered.

Minho hummed. "Just told them there's a music audition and a discount at the bar if they audition."

Jisung blinked but laughed before patting Minho's back in gratitude. "You're the best, Hyung."

"I know," smiled Minho.

However, the people who auditioned had a wider range of skills than expected. Many of the people in the line were dancers, the type of people that neither Jisung nor Felix were looking for. However, they were respectful and let the dancers continue with the audition because they knew they could connect them with some friends they knew back from college.

One dancer in particular, Momo, was an exchange student from Japan who insisted that she was fit to join their band as an interpretative dancer while they played their music. It took much convincing and a lot of calling their friends at dance academies for Momo to be satisfied with the fact that she will not join their band.

There was a flute player named Sana who played an American march excerpt well. Jisung learned she was a classically trained musician, not knowing anything about the typical band life that he and Felix lived. Felix was kind enough to redirect her to an orchestra that his other friend plays for and connected them via a quick and very argumentative phone call.

Then there was Junho who was a phenomenal singer. Felix was in awe at how smooth and natural his voice carries. Jisung was about to stand up and clap for Junho, telling him he got the part in the band. However, their hopes were shot down when Junho regrettably told them he was terrible at instruments. This crushed their hearts because, as much as they wanted another singer, they needed a drummer or bassist more than anything. Junho was understanding though and wished them good luck. The two wished Junho off and said he has a lot of potential with that voice.

It was rather nice to see how many talented people were in the area. The two, especially Jisung, forgot how many people enjoyed performing music just as much as they did on account they only knew of their close circle of friends and their friend’s friends. It was a great reminder to them that they aren’t alone in wanting to attain their music dreams.

The line was getting smaller and smaller and Jisung started to get anxious. Felix saw the way Jisung's leg bounced nervously on the table and he reached over for Jisung's hand and squeezed it. Jisung looked up and saw Felix smile at him with hope. He couldn't help but smile back.

The two were interrupted abruptly when someone with a hearty laugh came in loudly with a guitar case on his back. He grinned at them both and waved as he walked to grab a chair for him to sit at. Felix was taken aback by the auditioner's confident gestures as he pulled out a bass guitar out of his case.

"Sup?" he said as he sat in his chair and smiled charmingly at them. The bassist began strumming his strings and tuning his instrument, without a tuner notably. It took a minute or two for the bassist to tune his instrument before he looked at Jisung and Felix with a smile again.

Jisung didn't know how to react but he tried to straighten himself out and seem poised. "So.. um.. name?"

"Hyunjin. Hwang Hyunjin," the bassist grins. "Heard you guys need a bass player? Well, I'm your guy."

Felix scrunched his nose as he wrote Hyunjin’s name down in his notes. Felix did not have a good first impression of Hyunjin. He wasn't sure why Hyunjin's attitude was off-putting, but it felt like he was trying to prove something to them. And Felix wasn't a fan.

When Jisung asked for Hyunjin to play, he nodded and immediately played a bass line of a song that the two both recognized. It’s been so long since they heard a bass play by itself, let alone play so eloquently. It even gained the attention of some of the hotel guests who were passing by the lounge area, in and out of the hotel. (Much to Minho’s pleasure on account he gets more free advertisement for coming into the lounge.)

Jisung looked at Hyunjin in awe, as if this was the bassist they have been waiting for all of his life. Felix, on the other hand, was hesitant to silently agree with Jisung. He saw how good Hyunjin was, even at how the people in the lounge and guests in the lobby peaked over when they heard him play.

Hyunjin was good. Nay, he was amazing. It might be because they haven't had a solid audition all day or because Hyunjin is a pure musical genius, but his playing was memorizing.

As soon as Hyunjin stopped playing his second song, Jisung leaped out of his chair and shook Hyunjin's hand excitedly. "Welcome to the band!"

Hyunjin laughed as he laid his bass gently back into its case. "That's all it took to audition? Solid. Where's the contract?"

Jisung blinked at the shocking question. "Um, no contract," he grinned nervously. "Like, no official written contract. Just… hoping you trust us."

"Oh, we're just being friends and playing music? I dig it." Hyunjin snickered.

Felix got up from his seat and walked over to Hyunjin to give him a formal handshake to welcome him into the band. He judged the way Hyunjin leaned in his stance and his hands calmly in his pockets as he looked at Jisung. Felix coughed to get his attention. Hyunjin looked up at him and gave him a lazy smile before reaching over to shake Felix’s hand. Their handshake was limp. Felix has never had such a terrible handshake with anyone. He pulled his hand back and watched as Hyunjin’s hands went right back to his pockets. "You get one-third of the profit from the gigs we perform."

"Whoa, just 33%?" Hyunjin blinked as he leaned to his other side to face Felix better. Felix wanted to rip that smug expression right off his face.

"You get free housing and food at this hotel and get to live with us," Felix replied matter-of-factly.

"Oh sick," Hyunjin exclaimed in surprise. "I'm sold. When can I move in?" He jokes.

"Whenever, really!" Jisung exclaimed enthusiastically. He grinned from ear to ear. As Hyunjin went over to talk to Minho about that discount, Jisung pulled Felix aside and squeezed his hands ecstatically. "This is great! We're finally on our way to becoming a full band!"

Felix looked over Jisung's shoulder at Hyunjin who told a joke and made Minho laugh before looking back at Jisung. Jisung’s eyes were twinkling and he was oozing with enthusiasm, Felix didn't want to be a killjoy. He gave Jisung the biggest smile he could with the looming thoughts in his head and squeezed Jisung's hands back. "It's something else," Felix replied. "We still need to look for a drummer, you know."

Jisung nodded. "Of course. But, wow, I can't believe we just hired a guy. And he's good! We really just opened another door of opportunity!" He let go of Felix's hand and ran over to talk to Minho. Felix saw how Jisung easily slung his arm around Hyunjin's shoulder.

Felix sighed to himself. He was glad they found a bassist. And Hyunjin surpassed their expectations for what they had anticipated. But Felix wasn't sure what was so off-putting about Hyunjin. Or maybe he knew himself too well enough that he'd rather not let that reason get in the way of his band, but more importantly Jisung.

He tried not to let the thoughts get the best of him. He left Jisung and Hyunjin at the lounge as he grabbed his papers and put them back in his knapsack that he slung over his shoulders. Felix walked through the lobby to the elevator and hurried in and pressed the close button rapidly. He sighed in relief when the elevator closed and it was just him. He pressed the third floor button and tapped his foot to the beat of the song Hyunjin played that was stuck in his head.

He grunted in frustration to himself. As soon as the elevator door opened to his floor, Felix sluggishly walked to their hotel room. He began digging his hands into his pockets when he suddenly gasped when he couldn't feel the key card. He gasped and dropped his knapsack to the ground and searched through the bag to find it, only to have no luck.

Felix groaned. He was always bad at remembering his key. That was Jisung's job.

He heard a laugh down the hallway and saw Jeongin snickering at him as he walked closer. "Hyung, when will you learn?" he joked as he pulled out the master key from his pocket and opened the hotel door with ease. 

"You're a lifesaver," Felix smiled with an exhausted sigh.

"No need to thank me," Jeongin humbly stated. "Just doing my job. But I'd like a reward in return."

Felix laughed. "I have Tam tams in the room. You can have a box." Jeongin cheered behind as he followed Felix into the room. Turning on the lights in their room, Felix gasped at the sight of a clean room that smelled of fresh laundry.

As soon as he went through the doors, he immediately kicked his shoes off and jumped onto the bed face down. Felix whined when he realized Jeongin washed them. Jeongin was rummaging through their snack stash for Tim Tams and hummed. "Hyung, your sheets were disgusting. It took forever to get that stench out."

Jeongin ripped the package open and put the chocolate snack in his mouth as he saw Felix sit up with his legs crossed pouting. "I liked that stench," Felix said. Jeongin laughed and joined Felix on the edge of his bed. Despite Felix's weird attachment to the smell of his sheets, Jeongin knew his friend wasn't too upset. "How are classes for you?" Felix asked.

Jeongin wrapped the snack up and sealed it before looking back at his friend. "Mmm, as you'd expect classes to go I suppose. I have a research paper due in a few weeks."

"Yikes," Felix responded as he reached over for the bag and got Tim Tam for himself. "About what?"

"The effects of pop culture on a country's economy." Jeongin saw the confused look on Felix's face and laughed. "It's just sociology, Hyung."

Felix nodded slowly. "Yeah, I'll just stick with music."

"Speaking of which," Jeongin hummed, "how'd that audition go?"

"It went well. We, uh, found a bassist."

"Oh, that's great!" exclaimed Jeongin. However, he saw that look on Felix's face that definitely did not seem excited. "Something tells me that you aren't too thrilled about it…"

"It's just," Felix sighed as he handed back the snack bag to Jeongin, "I don't know. I don't get good vibes from the guy. He just… he just came in, said "sup," played a bass line, and now he's in." Jeongin nodded and watched Felix ruffle his hair in frustration. “I just… I don’t know how he clicked so well with Jisung.”

Jeongin ooh-ed. “So you’re jealous, Hyung?”

“What?” Felix questioned, taken aback. “No, I’m definitely not jealous.”

Humming, Jeongin shrugged as he got off the bed when he felt the pager on his belt loop vibrate. “Well, it makes sense if it is jealousy. You’ve been with Jisung hyung the longest. You know him more than anybody else.” Jeongin made his way to the door but turned and smiled at Felix. “Try to open up to him though. This new bassist sounds promising.”

—

It’s Monday.

It took Hyunjin exactly twelve hours to show up back at the hotel the day after auditions with all of his belongings. It wasn’t much. His bass guitar in it’s case, a backpack that seemed to be heavier than expected, and a pillow under his right arm. When Jisung and Felix went down the elevator to pick him up, they expected more. Much more. At least a luggage or two. 

Felix tried to shake it off that he thinks his gut is right about Hyunjin not being who he presents himself to be, but it was hard. Especially when Jisung smiled widely and waved at Hyunjin waiting in the lobby before he ran over to greet him. Felix sighed to himself. “Gosh, why does he like him so much?” He followed behind Jisung who was already chatting up a storm with Hyunjin. He heard Minho at the front desk hum to get his attention.

Looking over, Felix saw Minho smile and wave him over with his free hand as he had a cup of what Felix assumed was coffee in his other hand. “I don’t think I ever saw you two awake and down in the lobby before ten o’clock,” Minho jokes. He saw Felix yawn and laughed. “Your bass boy must really be excited to join your band to come here so fast.”

“He texted Jisung at nine. Said that he was already half-an-hour away from the hotel.” Felix rubbed his eyes with another yawn. “I didn’t expect him to move in so soon either.”

Jisung grinned and patted Hyunjin’s shoulder. “Wow, didn’t expect you to come so soon,” he snickered.

Hyunjin smiled back. “I mean, I don’t have anything else to do really,” he laughed jokingly. Jisung didn’t seem to catch on to Hyunjin’s obscure comment as he offered to help Hyunjin with his bass. Hyunjin shook his head. “It’s fine, dude. Thanks. Oh, shit. Are you a hyung or—”

Jisung blinked at Hyunjin, realizing they threw formalities out the window. His mother would have scolded him if she were here right now. “Um… I’m twenty. And so is Felix.”

“Oh, thank God!” Hyunjin had a huge sigh of relief. “We’re the same age then. No need to place the societal hierarchy.” He walked over to greet Felix a good morning and Jisung watched from behind as he stayed back for a bit.

Jisung was a little shocked how Hyunjin was acting this morning. It was totally different from how he presented himself yesterday. Maybe it was because he already met Felix and Jisung or maybe it was because he already felt comfortable around them. Regardless, he seemed  _ different _ .

—

It’s Thursday.

Their first days of practice were unofficially just in their hotel room the first few days after Hyunjin moved in with Jisung and Felix. It was easy since there were two guitarists and one bassist. Plus, their room walls were thick enough so that they wouldn’t disturb their neighbors. Jisung was trying to explain the chords to Hyunjin, but was having a hard time doing so.

Felix just came back into the room after getting some towels from Jeongin who was doing his rounds on their floor. “Hey, perfect timing,” Jisung grinned. “Can you tell Hyunjin how this song goes.”

“Huh?” Felix asked as he set the towels down right outside of the bathroom. He walked over and scrunched his nose at the sight of Hyunjin sitting in his bed. Hyunjin grinned and patted the seat next to him where he wanted Felix to sit. Felix sat down, although he would rather prefer to do his own thing rather than helping out their newest member. “What don’t you get?”

Hyunjin handed over the sheet music to Felix. “Well first, what key is this?”

Unlike Jisung, who was mostly a self-taught musician, Felix took a few music classes during his university years. In fact, he was going to major in music if it weren’t so hard to fit into his schedule and the professors were a bit nicer to the students. Felix was shocked to hear that Hyunjin asked him something that he rarely heard from Jisung. Jisung always said he just got the  _ feel _ of the music, rather than knowing what key they were in. “It’s Bb minor.”

“Oh, wow, that’s unique,” Hyunjin grinned.

Jisung watched cluelessly as Hyunjin and Felix were going over the chords of the song. He was trying to figure out what they were saying, but he only understood what a few of the chords he was talking about were, he didn’t really understand what these major-seven chords were about. It was kind of disheartening, to know so little about music theory yet be in a band. But Jisung tried not to let that get the best of him. Truthfully, he was grateful that Hyunjin had the same knowledge as Felix.

“I like it,” Hyunjin smiled as he looked over at Felix. Felix blinked and showed a small smile back. That smile, however, disappeared quickly. “I think we can jazz it up a bit.”

Felix furrowed his eyebrows a little bit. “What do you mean?”

“Well, it is colourful as it is now. It’s lovely,” Hyunjin began. “But, I think we can spice it up by adding something from its relative major.”

“...Db major?” Felix asked. Jisung blinked even more confused as Hyunjin nodded. 

“Yeah, exactly.” He pulled out the pen from behind his right ear and started writing on the note page. Jisung and Felix realized at this moment that not only was Hyunjin a good bass player, he was also classically trained. “Well, it’s not exactly a score sheet,” Hyunjin chuckled, “but I think we can add Db minor 7 right before the Db7. And then we can replace the Gbmaj7 with a Gb69,” he stated.

He reached over and grabbed Felix’s guitar, much to Felix’s dismay, and started playing the tune. Jisung was surprised that Hyunjin knew how to play the guitar as well. Felix was too, but he tried not to show it, especially since Hyunjin was holding one of his most prized possessions.

“And then after that, a Gb minor 69, and then loop it again. It adds a bit more… colour to the song, don’t you think?” 

As Hyunjin demonstrated the chords of Felix’s guitar, Jisung nodded. “I like it,” Jisung smiled.

Felix shook his head. “I don’t.” Jisung and Hyunjin looked over at Felix who pulled his guitar back from Hyunjin’s grasp. “It’s nice, yeah, but I think the song is good just as is.”

“We can try this spicier version by Hyunjin,” Jisung suggested, “to get a feel for it. See if we would like it? Maybe we can ask Chan hyung if he likes it.”

“No, I like my version,” Felix stated. “I don’t even know what the other chords you mentioned meant.”

“Well—” Hyunjin began.

Felix stood up before Hyunjin could continue. “I’m going to get something from the lounge downstairs for lunch. You guys want anything?” he interrupted Hyunjin’s sentence. It was a rhetoric question so that Felix could leave without any of them interjecting.

Jisung and Hyunjin watched as Felix left the room once again, leaving the two of them dumbfounded. There was an awkward silence and Jisung looked over at Hyunjin and forced a laugh to relieve the tension in the atmosphere. “Sorry. I think he’s having a bad day.” Hyunjin nodded slowly before he went to grab his bass. “I didn’t know you know theory.”

Hyunjin looked up and nodded. “Yeah, it was a part of my program.”

“Did you major in music?”

“Mhmm,” Hyunjin nodded again as he started tuning his instrument. “It was mostly performance, but we had to learn the basics of theory and whatnot.” Hyunjin shrugged it off as no big deal, but Jisung knew that they needed some knowledge of theory to upgrade their music in the band. “Seems like Felix has a bit of knowledge too, huh?”

“He does, yeah,” Jisung nodded back as he fiddled around with chords on his guitar. “I don’t really know chord progressions or whatever they are,” he laughed. “I mostly only know the basic chords, tabs, and whatever Felix teaches me.” Hyunjin laughed with Jisung. 

“That’s cool,” Hyunjin smiled shyly. “Maybe Felix and I could write a few songs together one day.”

Jisung’s eyes widened with hope. He nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah, I hope one day you two could.”

Felix was on top of the bar stool in the lounge, waiting for Minho to finish talking to one of the guests on the other far end of the bar. He waited patiently, but the fingers tapping on the countertop anxiously gave himself away at a laughing Minho who walked over.

“Gosh, you must hate his guts,” Minho said.

“Hello to you too, Hyung,” Felix rolled his eyes. 

“Oh, c’mon,” Minho laughed. He patted Felix’s arm before reaching under to grab a can of cola from the mini fridge to put in front of Felix. Felix grinned and opened the can as Minho hummed. “So I’m guessing that bass guy Hyunjin isn’t cooperating well with you?”

“Worse,” Felix grunted after he took a sip and the bubbles infiltrated his mouth. He shook his head to get the carbonation to ease out. “He’s talented and knows what he’s doing. Even has a degree in music.”

Minho whistled, much to Felix’s dismay. “Well, that just seems like the boost you and Jisung need.” Felix remained quiet and Minho quickly grabbed the can away. Minho grinned when Felix whined and pouted. “No no,” he shook his head. “As your Hyung and kind of your boss, I want you to at least  _ try _ to think of one nice thing about Hyunjin.”

Felix grunted. “You aren’t my therapist.”

“I give you housing for free.”

“Touche,” Felix sighed in defeat. “He’s a good bass player.”

“That was poor.”

“I gave you  _ one _ nice thing!” Felix saw Minho’s eyebrow raise and he grunted. “He’s a  _ really _ good bass player. Like, he actually knows what the hell I’m talking about when I chords. He even got my reference when I talked about John Coltrane.”

Minho nodded in approval and handed Felix his cola back. Minho grinned as Felix sipped his cola with hostility. “See? That wasn’t too hard.” Felix sent back a hard glare and Minho laughed. “But even you can tell that Hyunjin is talented  _ and _ that you have a lot in common.”

“Hyung, are you on his side or my side?”

Minho hummed as he started wiping the countertops. “I’m on the side where you guys become better musicians and don’t hate your band members.”

—

It’s Saturday: the first day they perform as a three-person band at the hotel lounge.

Jisung was the first one awake in the hotel room and saw how Felix was still sprawled out on his mattress and Hyunjin was curled up on the couch with the blanket engulfing his whole figure. This is probably the first time they aren’t butting heads and they aren’t even conscious. Jisung sighed to himself. His thoughts were interrupted at the sound of the door knock.

Grunting, Jisung begrudgedly went to open the door and rubbed his eyes at the exposure to the bright hallway light. “Jeongin, I told you that we don’t need extra tow—”

“Good morning to you too,” Minho hummed. He laughed when Jisung fixed his composure and ruffled his hair to seem less messy. “I know you’re the only one awake. Care to join me for a walk?”

Jisung peaked his head out and looked down both sides of the hallway. “...Here?”

“Well, you look like a mess right now. I don’t think I want to be seen in public with you dressed in your pajamas anyway,” Minho joked as Jisung pouted, slightly embarrassed. Jisung agreed to it though. He reached over to grab the room key and slid it in his sweat’s pocket as he quietly closed the door behind him and walked with Minho. 

“This is new,” Jisung commented. 

Minho nodded. “Yeah. I just wanted to talk to you before your first performance as a band together.” Through his peripheral vision, he could see Jisung tense up. “Nervous?” 

“I guess,” Jisung shrugged. “Felix and Hyunjin play pretty well together, even without me playing,” he admitted. “But… I don’t know. It’s different when you’re playing with someone when they’re like a coworker and when they’re a friend.”

“I get it,” Minho hummed. “So… do you want me to cancel this performance?”

“Wha— No!” Jisung shook his head. Minho snickered, signaling to Jisung he was only teasing. Jisung rolled his eyes and puffed his cheeks. “I think we’ll do well. I just hope those two behave, I suppose.”

Jisung seemed to have lost track of time since he joined Minho down at the lounge for a quick brunch. Hyunjin was already awake and was checking his phone while still lying down on his couch. He looked over and saw that Jisung’s bed was empty and Felix started to roll in his bed.

“You awake?” Hyunjin asked softly. Felix grunted in reply, meaning ‘yes.’ Hyunjin snickered. He slowly sat up and stretched his arms above his head with a loud yawn. A pillow was thrown at his head and he screamed, earning a soft chuckle from Felix. Hyunjin pulled the pillow off of him and was greeted with a barely awake Felix.

“That’s how Jisung usually wakes me up,” Felix commented as he ruffled his disheveled hair. “Speaking of which, where’d he go?”

“I think he went down for brunch or something,” Hyunjin shrugged. He threw the pillow back. Felix caught it easily and put it back in it’s position.

The silence dawned upon them again. It was kind of awkward. They haven’t really been together, just the two of them, without Jisung in between. There was, surprisingly, no tension. 

“So,” Hyunjin coughed to gain Felix’s attention. Felix looked over as he was making his bed look a bit more decent. “Are you ready for the performance today?”

Felix scrunched his nose, “I forgot it was today,” he muttered to himself. He shrugged to answer Hyunjin’s question. “Mmm, as ready as I’ll ever be, I suppose.” Hyunjin followed Felix’s lead and started to get up from the couch and put the cushions and blankets back in its place. “By the way—” Felix started. “Do you have your notes on the change of chord progressions?” Hyunjin looked at Felix surprised. Felix averted his eyes away and furrowed his eyebrows. “I slept on what you said about the changes… I think you’re right. They might be nice.”

Hyunjin shuffled through the pockets of the hoodies that were draped around the chairs near him and managed to find the crumpled piece of paper with his notes. He nodded and handed it over to Felix. “Do you think we have enough time to practice it before the performance this evening?”

“Yeah,” Felix nodded. He looked at the paper and then back at Hyunjin. “But you have to tell Jisung how to play in simpler terms. Or just move his fingers for him,” he joked. 

Hyunjin smiled and nodded. “Yeah, I can do that.”

They both turned their heads to the doorway and saw Jisung come back with a couple of plates of food. “Whoa,” Jisung gasped. “You guys are awake early.”

“It’s almost eleven,” Hyunjin commented.

“Oh shit!” Jisung exclaimed as he was sipping the orange juice in his hand. He placed down the three stacked plates on the nearby table and then put his cup down next to it. “I grabbed you guys food. Hyung said that he’s expecting a pretty decent crowd since there’s a business convention going on downstairs.”

Felix walked over to the food and sighed. “Oh boy, can’t wait to entertain the rich people,” he said sarcastically. 

Hyunjin laughed at the joke and grinned over at Jisung. “Thanks for the food,” he grinned. Jisung smiled and nodded back in reply. 

Felix looked over his shoulder and scrunched his nose. He started eating the food as Jisung walked over to Hyunjin. He showed Jisung the notes and told him about the chord changes, just as Felix had suggested to him. Felix wasn’t sure why actually seeing him made his eyebrows furrow. He decided to focus on the food in front of him though, ignoring the laughs Hyunjin and Felix shared.

Hyunjin noticed Felix’s dismissive behaviour though. He coughed and gave the crinkled paper to Jisung. “Um… yeah. Maybe Felix can show you the finger positions for the changes. I’m… uh, gonna go downstairs. Minho hyung said he has a surprise for me he wanted to show before tonight.” Quickly, Hyunjin grabbed a hoodie to put over himself, grabbed his own hotel key, and quietly exited the room.

With a sigh of relief, the tension in Felix’s body eased. Jisung pouted when he looked over at Felix but shook his head, deciding not to comment on anything. “So can you teach me these new chords?”

Turning around with his cheeks full of food, Felix nodded. Jisung laughed at the sight and walked over to pat Felix’s full cheeks. “You look like a squirrel.” Felix scrunched his nose in response. It’s been a while since they had a moment of quiet time together. Felix seemed to realize that immediately as he felt the rush of warmth race towards his puffed cheeks. He quickly turned himself, a bit too suddenly that made Jisung think he might have done something wrong. “Ah,” he scratched the back of his neck, “we should get ready so we can do a mic check before the lunch rush.”

Felix nodded, not uttering a word. Jisung stood there awkwardly and sighed. “I’ll bring my guitar down. Do you want me to bring yours down too?”

“Yes please,” Felix responded, not turning to look at Jisung. 

Jisung pouted. He assumed Felix was just having a rough start to the day. Quietly, he grabbed both of the guitar cases and walked out of the room, leaving Felix to himself with his food.

“Damn it,” Felix grunted after he swallowed the large amount of food in his mouth. “He probably thinks I’m pissed at him. And Hyunjin.”

“Yeah, you got that right,” Jeongin nodded, surprising Felix who coughed as he choked a little bit. He turned to see Jeongin laughing at him. “Sorry, Hyung. I’m doing my rounds. I saw Jisung hyung walking to the elevator looking kinda sad. You do that?”

“I did not do anything,” Felix frowned.

Jeongin pulled in his cleaning cart and heard Felix whine. He rolled his eyes. “Hyung, I’m going to wash your bed sheets whether you like it or not.” Felix grunted in defeat and went back to his food. Jeongin started in the bathroom and grabbed the used towels that were on the floor and hanging on the shower curtain. “Gosh, I’m not sure if another person in this room was such a good idea. There’s more towels than ever!” He came back and immediately threw the towels in the hamper of his cart before noticing how Felix seemed awfully quiet, even for Jeongin’s sassy remarks. “You good?”

“Just peachy.”

“Ah,” Jeongin hummed. He rested his bottom at the edge of the table next to Felix who kept his gaze on the food in front of him. Jeongin grabbed a piece of seaweed and quickly stuffed it into his mouth. “Hyung, do you really hate Hyunjin hyung that much?”

Felix looked up at Jeongin surprised. “I don’t hate him.”

“Then why did he go to the lobby by himself? And why did Jisung hyung leave you here?”

It was silent before Felix stopped eating and leaned back against his chair. He groaned and covered his eyes with his hands in embarrassment. “Because I’m stupid…” Jeongin blinked at Felix before he uncovered his eyes. Felix sighed. “Is it obvious I like Jisung?”

“Mmmm, not really,” Jeongin shrugged. “But Hyung’s also pretty slow with these kinds of things.” It was a moment of silence before Jeongin gasped. “Oh, you’re jealous of Jisung hyung’s attention towards Hyunjin hyung, huh?” Felix groaned in reply, giving Jeongin the answer he needed. “Aw, that’s cute though!” He laughed when Felix nudged him off of the table. “No, really! I didn’t think you were the possessive type.”

“Gosh, I want to kick you out of this room so bad,” Felix grumbled.

Jeongin pulled up from the table and went back to his duties. “Well, you can’t,” he hummed confidently. “Besides, you need me to listen to your problems.” He started cleaning again. “But, Hyung. Think about it: maybe you don’t hate Hyunjin hyung. Maybe you just liked having Jisung hyung all to yourself.”

“Did you two get into a fight while I was gone?” Jisung bluntly asked Hyunjin who was sipping the carbonated water by the stage.

Hyunjin blinked surprised and shook his head as he was still drinking. Jisung sighed and Hyunjin put down his drink at the nearest table. “No, why? Did he say we did?”

Jisung shook his head. “No… Felix just seemed really off I guess…”

“Maybe he’s stressed? I mean, it  _ is _ the first time we are playing together as a trio. Heck, I’m kind of nervous too,” Hyunjin admitted.

“Yeah, maybe it’s nerves,” Jisung nodded. “Anyway, do you want to be sitting together or standing together?”

Hyunjin hopped on the stage. He looked onto the tables and chairs in front of him with his hands on his hips. “What do you guys usually do?”

“Uh, as a duo, we sat. But if you want to stand, we can stand.”

“I don’t know if Felix will hate me if I suggest that,” Hyunjin hummed. Jisung whined and Hyunjin laughed and waved his hands frantically. “I’m just playing. I think I can do Felix a solid and just sit with you guys. I think you should be in the middle though.” Jisung blinked with a head tilt. “Bassists are usually at the side. We aren’t usually the melody, we just make the melody sound better.”

Jisung rubbed his head before he placed the two guitar cases at the foot of the stage. “Gosh, you and Felix are on another level. I swear.” Hyunjin snickered and helped Jisung lug the cases to the back of the stage before Jisung froze in his place. “Shit! I forgot your bass. Sorry about that dude.”

“No worries!” Hyunjin placed the guitars on their guitar stands and closed the cases before turning to Jisung again. “I’ll just grab it right now.”

“No need to,” Felix chimed in. Hyunjin and Jisung looked over and Felix lifted up the bass case he brought down with him. Hyunjin cheered and jumped off the stage to grab the case. “Figured I should save you the trip.”

Hyunjin grinned. Felix, unknowingly, grinned back. This whole interaction surprised Jisung. He wasn’t sure why the Felix this morning and the Felix at this very moment seemed to be two completely different people.

—

Even though Jisung and Felix have been living in the hotel for quite some time now, they've never seen so many people arrive for a business convention, let alone their performance in the lounge. It was quite intimidating to be on stage in front of older—probably richer—business people.

Hyunjin seemed to be the only one unaffected by the audience. He saw how Felix was bouncing his leg nervously with his guitar resting in his lap. Anxiously, Hyunjin offered a supportive back pat to Felix. He knows it's a small gesture, but he didn't want to cross his boundaries. Surprisingly, Felix didn't give him a death glare and, instead, gave a small faint smile. It was a sigh of relief on both of their parts.

Minho introduced them ten minutes later. The lights of the lounge dimmed more so that the stage lights brought attention to the three musicians on stage behind him. "Y'know, despite the fact this band works for me and I control their paycheck, they're pretty good musicians."

The crowd laughed at Minho's humour. Hyunjin leaned over and whispered to Jisung who was between him and Felix. "I thought we don't get paid."

"Yeah, technically we don't," Jisung whispered back. "But he gives us free boarding and food. So… can't complain," he shrugged.

Felix looked over at Hyunjin and Jisung talking while Minho still had the microphone. His eyebrows furrowed, but that was a habit. He supposes that the only reason he isn't too fond of Hyunjin is because it was much easier for him to be closer to Jisung when they were just a duo. It's a dumb reason and Felix knows it. When he saw Hyunjin look over with a sense of worry in his eyes, Felix offered another small smile to relieve the tension. He hopes that his message came across to Hyunjin that he held nothing against him.

Minho left the stage and let the trio start playing the two songs they prepared. 

The first one was a great opener, it got the audience nodding their heads and tapping their feet as they continued mingling. Some even stopped their conversations to hear the song. Jisung noticed this first since he was the main singer and saw the faces looking directly at them. He couldn't help but smile widely at the sight.

Before the second song, the crowd applauded. Felix took a sip of his water that rested behind his chair. He was dumbfounded at how Hyunjin added another dimension to the music. It just  _ sounded  _ deeper. And better. 

After the second song, one of the drunk uncles requested a song that neither Felix nor Jisung heard of before. They looked at each other puzzled. However, they started hearing a bass play the song that was requested. The older audience members cheered loudly as Hyunjin played with ease and confidence. Jisung looked at Felix with wide eyes and Felix shrugged. They leaned back in their chairs so that Hyunjin could shine as the audience was clapping along and even singing the lyrics.

After Hyunjin finished, a few of the audience members whistled at a job well done, causing Hyunjin to laugh aloud. Minho quickly ran up the stage to announce that the trio would play one more song, much to the crowds dismay. The trio behind Minho laughed wholeheartedly at the fact that the crowd loved hearing their music.

—

It’s next Wednesday. Kind of.

It was about four in the morning when Hyunjin opened his eyes slowly to the dark hotel room atmosphere. He grunted at himself silently as he sat up and rubbed his eyes so that he could adjust his vision to see better. Hyunjin needed to pee badly. The only reason he was upset was because he was having an awesome dream that he wanted to write down before breakfast in a few hours, but he wasn’t sure if he would catch up on the dream where he left off after his pee break. 

To Hyunjin’s surprise, however, the room wasn’t completely dark. He saw the light from the terrace on and realized he wasn’t the only one awake right now. The only reason this was surprising was because he knew it wasn’t Jisung out there. Jisung was passed out on his bed and snoring vociferously. 

Felix is outside. Hyunjin wasn’t sure if he should just go to the bathroom, take the piss, and then go straight back to the couch or go outside to check on Felix. He knew that he wasn’t in a favourable position with Felix, but he knew Felix didn’t hate his guts either. Even if he did go to the bathroom first, he knew Felix would hear it. 

Despite everything in his brain that told him not to, Hyunjin opted for the latter. He quietly walked over to the screen door. Felix had his chair facing towards the town as he was writing in his notepad. Hyunjin noticed Felix usually wrote it in when he was anxious or upset. Or both. He gently pulled the screen door open a little farther, but hissed aloud when it made a louder noise than expected.

As he jumped in his seat, Felix quickly turned around. He was surprised to see Hyunjin awake. Hyunjin smiled timidly before coughing into his hand. “Y-you’re awake,” he started. Slowly, Felix nodded his head. “Couldn’t sleep?” Hyunjin asked.

Felix nodded silently. Hyunjin noticed that Felix didn’t seem to mind his presence. He took this opportunity to pull the extra chair at the other side of the terrace and sit down closer to Felix. He looked over at Felix’s shoulder and was also surprised to see that Felix didn’t tilt away from him. Hyunjin wasn’t sure if this was an awkward or comforting silence between them. He knew there was some underlying tension though. Hyunjin wasn’t dumb.

Much to Hyunjin astonishment, Felix spoke up. “I usually sleep at five or six,” he admitted. Hyunjin blinked. He wasn’t expecting that. Felix looked over from his notepad and saw Hyunjin looking at him with pure shock. He forced out a chuckle. “I know. Yeah, I’ve never really had a good night’s sleep since… ever,” Felix laughed again. “I pretend to sleep before Jisung so that he doesn’t get worried if he sees me up so late.

Hyunjin pouted. “What time do you usually wake up?”

Felix stopped writing completely as he put his pen down. Hyunjin froze, unsure if Felix was going to answer or lash out on him. “Usually nine. Sometimes ten.”

“That’s not a lot of sleep you get,” Hyunjin frowned.

“It’s not,” Felix agreed. He sighed and put his notepad and pen down on the table between the two of them before fixing his eyes back at the dim sky. It was lit by the few lights that were still on and filled with the sounds of a few cars that passed by ever so often. 

“What are you, um, writing?” Hyunjin asked.

Felix looked over and Hyunjin swore he was going to get a mouthful. However, Felix tilted the paper towards Hyunjin to show the words and a few chords on the page. “Some lyrics… some chord progressions,” he shrugged. “Do you usually stay up too?” Felix asked, which shocked Hyunjin.

“Um,” Hyunjin shook his head. “Not this late. I think the latest would be three in the morning. I’m awake now because I took a piss.” Felix chuckled at the joke and Hyunjin grinned. “Do you do this every night?” Felix looked up at Hyunjin and Hyunjin was sure he was going to be told off, but Felix just sighed sadly and nodded. Felix is surprising Hyunjin a lot at these ungodly hours.

“I’ve never really gotten a good night’s sleep since… ever,” Felix admitted. “I took a lot of all-nighters in university and… I guess that habit never died down.” Hyunjin nodded as he listened intently, which somewhat shocked Felix. The facade that he put on when they first met seemed to have diminished, Felix observed. “Maybe I’m just naturally a night owl.”

“I feel that,” Hyunjin nodded in agreement. “My best works come from staying up late.”

“Mine too,” Felix looked over at Hyunjin with wide eyes and an aura of excitement. “I usually write when I can’t sleep, which is every night,” he joked. “It’s like… the best time to work is when everything and everyone else is asleep.”

Hyunjin looked at Felix with an understanding look in his eyes. He wasn’t sure if it was the insomnia that made Felix tolerate him or if Felix was just calmer at night. It might’ve been both. But Hyunjin figured he should stay out on the terrace with Felix as long as Felix seemed to not mind. “Hey, I’m gonna get some water and ice upstairs. Do you want anything?”

“Maybe a cola?” Felix hummed. 

Hyunjin grinned and nodded as he stood up from his seat and stood by the doorway. “Sure! I’ll be back in a few.”

When Hyunjin left and slid the door closed behind him, Felix was surprised with himself. It was the first time that he didn’t want to ignore Hyunjin’s existence and he wasn’t entirely sure why. Maybe it was because Hyunjin was the first person to know of Felix’s terrible sleeping patterns, or because he’s never had a companion to chat with at such unusual hours. Whatever it may be, Felix feels like, just maybe, he can learn to get used to Hyunjin.

—

It’s next Tuesday. Barely.

Jisung isn’t the type to wake up in the middle of the night. He usually slept straight from the time he laid down in bed to the time his phone alarm went off at eight in the morning. This night, however, was an exception on account that Felix was able to wake Jisung up quickly.

“Dude, dude, wake up!” Felix huffed as he shook Jisung by his arm. Jisung rolled onto his back and groaned, thinking Felix was up to some sort of prank with Hyunjin. However, he heard the alarming tone in Felix’s voice as he shook Jisung harder. “C’mon, dude! We got to go!”

He wasn’t sure what was happening, but Jisung sat up in his bed frustrated as he rubbed his eyes. “Dude, what’s the—” His sentence was interrupted by Felix throwing Jisung’s nearby hoodie on top of his lap before Felix slapped Jisung’s face. That was a first for a unique wake-up call. 

“We have to go! The fire alarm went off!”

Just then, Jisung’s senses came together and he heard the blaring fire alarm beeps throughout the room and outside in the hallway. He wasn’t sure what was happening and he wasn’t sure what he was doing since he was half-asleep, but he pulled the hoodie over his long sleeve shirt and let Felix pull him by his sleeve out of the hotel room and down the stairs to the lobby.

It was after a couple of flights of stairs that it occurred to Jisung this was a fire evacuation. He started moving faster down the stairs so that Felix didn’t have to drag him down. “What happened?” he asked Felix.

“The alarm went off about three minutes ago. Minho hyung told everyone to leave their rooms and exit the building as soon as possible.” Felix replied.

Jisung nodded as he focused on not bumping into the other hotel guests as everyone was running down the stairs. However, Jisung’s eyes widened at a realization. “Where’s Hyunjin?”

Felix looked at Jisung and blinked. “He left as soon as he heard the second beep.”

“Huh?” Jisung was taken aback.

Felix shrugged. “I’m not so sure either. We’ll just look for him when we’re on the ground floor.”

After they reached the outside of the building, Felix and Jisung saw the staff making sure everyone was safe and that all the rooms were evacuated. They managed to find Minho who just got off the phone and saw the other two with a sign of relief on his face. Minho ran over to them and hugged them, one in each arm. “Thank God, you two are safe,” he sighed happily.

Felix and Jisung let their hyung embrace them before he pulled back. “Hyung, what happened?” Jisung asked.

Minho grunted. “Someone was smoking in a non-smoking room. The curtain caught on fire twenty minutes ago. Fifth floor. Got a call from the room and evacuated everyone.”

Felix gasped. “But it’s taken care of now, right?”

“I hope,” Minho sighed. “The firefighters are two minutes away now. The fire managed to stay just in that one room, but now that room has to be refurbished and everything and just—ugh,” he shook his head. “Nevermind that though, that’s all business talk. You three are good, hm?” Felix and Jisung blinked at Minho before Minho blinked back. “Where the fuck is Hyunjin?” he asked with a tone of frustration and worry in his voice.

“We were hoping you knew,” Jisung commented.

It was at that moment that the firetruck and ambulance came to the scene. The guests were all huddled in their respective parties and made way for the first-responders to enter the building. Everyone was surprised to see the paramedics go in though. Minho ran over because he didn’t remember anyone needed any medical attention.

Everyone tried to keep themselves preoccupied and Felix and Jisung were reviewing song notes that they typed up on their phone. Their improvised meeting was interrupted when Minho tapped Jisung's shoulder.

"Hey," Minho sighed with his hand rubbing his neck. Jisung blinked, followed by Felix who looked over and saw the concerned look on Minho's face. "It's Hyunjin."

Felix's eyes widened. "Is he okay?"

"He… uh… fainted." Minho replied. Jisung and Felix were growing anxious and held each other's arms as Minho shook his head. "He is fine. They're just taking him to the ER to make sure his lungs are okay."

"Was he near the fire?"

Minho shook his head again. "No, but the paramedics say it was a natural response to his body. Something about how he was in a similar situation previously?” He saw the concerned looks on his friends’ faces and he shrugged. “Sorry, I’m no doctor. You can take a taxi to the hospital though and see him. I’ll pay for it too. Don’t worry.”

Jisung patted Minho’s shoulder, feeling a sense of relief. “You’re the best, Hyung.”

“I know,” Minho nodded.

—

The hospital made Felix and Jisung more anxious than they had anticipated. The nurses at the emergency room told the two boys to stay in the waiting area while Hyunjin was in their care. They couldn’t do anything now except to wait for a nurse to come in.

“Do you think it’s bad?” Felix asked Jisung. 

Jisung looked over and noticed as Felix’s leg was bouncing nervously and he reached over to grab Felix’s hand and squeeze it. “Hey,” Jisung said softly to get Felix’s attention. When Felix looked over at him with worry in his eyes, Jisung gave him a small smile of encouragement. “I’m sure he is alright.” 

It was then that they heard a nurse call the visitors for Hyunjin to come forward. They immediately stood up and briskly walked over as the nurse smiled at them. “Are you guys related to Hyunjin?” she asked.

Jisung was taken aback, but Felix nodded to her question. “Yes.”

“Great!” she smiled reassuringly. “Follow me. I’ll take you to his room.”

They followed the nurse down the hallway, around the corner, and past a few doors that were locked and only accessible by staff. Felix and Jisung made sure to keep their distance from her though so that they could talk to each other quietly.

“Why did you say we were family?” Jisung asked Felix with a bump from elbow to elbow.

Felix looked over. “I knew we had a better chance seeing him if I said we were related,” he whispered in reply.

The nurse stood in front of an open door, presumably Hyunjin’s, and led the two inside. They all saw Hyunjin sleeping on the bed with an IV in his right arm. They frowned at the sight of their friend and the nurse coughed to get their attention. “He’s fine. We are just making sure he is okay after that faint. He woke up as soon as he arrived though. He’s just resting for now.”

Jisung frowned as Felix walked closer to Hyunjin and sat in the chair closest to the mattress. “What happened?” Jisung asked.

“We think his body responded to the smell of the smoke and the sound of the alarm,” she stated. “It might have been because he has some past trauma with fires and fire alarms. Did he ever tell you two?”

Jisung blinked. He didn’t expect this. Even though Hyunjin had opened up to them in the time that they had known him, he didn’t mention anything about any fires or flames. However, it did make sense as to why Hyunjin didn’t like passing by the stove in their hotel room near the foyer. “No… I don’t think he’s ready.”

“Well, I hope he tells you guys soon. This is something serious.” She nodded. “We have an in-house therapist if you guys ever want to come back with him so he can talk to someone about it.” Jisung nodded back before she allowed the boys to stay a bit before they had to leave since visitors can stay for only a short amount of time.

Meanwhile, Felix was holding Hyunjin’s hand (the side that wasn’t connected to the IV). He wasn’t sure why he felt some sort of guilt crashed upon him, but he sure felt an immense amount. Seeing Hyunjin lying down in the bed, vulnerable and still, made Felix feel upset at his past actions towards Hyunjin. Guilty, even. He shouldn’t have been so harsh towards him, but he let his feelings get the best of him.

He jolted when Hyunjin squeezed his hand. Felix blinked with wide eyes but was relieved to see Hyunjin slowly open his eyes and smile at him. “I definitely thought you were my mom,” he joked.

Felix grinned. “I have small hands.”

“They’re soft too,” Hyunjin added. They both snickered. He looked over at Jisung who was still talking to the nurse and he sighed before turning back to Felix. “Did I… pass out?” Felix nodded slowly and Hyunjin sighed again, this time with disappointment. “Sorry about that…”

Blinking, Felix shook his head. “No, don’t be sorry. We’re just happy that you’re okay.” Hyunjin looked up at Felix, realizing that he wasn’t just talking about Jisung, but also Felix himself. He smiled and squeezed Felix’s hand again before they both bashfully pulled their hands away from each other. “We’ll pick you up tomorrow morning, okay?” Felix coughed. “The nurse said you should rest here for the day. They won’t overcharge us either.”

Hyunjin gave a soft smile. “Good. Good. Thanks for coming with Jisung.” 

The two didn’t realize it but Jisung was watching them from afar as soon as the nurse left. He was shocked but also somewhat at ease when he saw that they were not only getting along, but actually becoming friends. He walked over to them as the two of them stopped holding hands and Jisung grinned. “Glad to see you’re alright.”

Hyunjin grinned. “Thanks. Glad it wasn’t anything serious.” He looked at Felix and Jisung who sat at both sides of his bed and he looked down at the hospital gown and IV on his arm. He was frustrated. “I’m really sorry about this, guys….”

“You really don’t need to be sorry,” Jisung reassured.

“No really,” Hyunjin shook his head. “Maybe… maybe you guys should just find a new bass player…”

Felix immediately interrupted Hyunjin’s spiraling thoughts. “No, no. Why would we ever do that? It was something we couldn’t control and your body had a natural reaction to it.” Even Jisung was surprised by Felix’s words.

Hyunjin twiddled his fingers timidly. “It’s just…” he trailed over before he shook his head and looked up at the two of them. “I just feel like something always goes wrong with the band and it’s my fault…” The other two stayed silent as Hyunjin let out a sarcastic chuckle. “I know it has nothing to do with the hotel fire… but it does.”

“What do you mean?” Jisung tilted his head.

“I used to be in a band with my friends, right? A typical high school band,” Hyunjin began. “We practiced at one of my friend’s, Jae’s, house all the time. We just played in his garage every afternoon after school. But then…” his voice started to shake. Hyunjin grunted. “...then one day… I think one of them was having a smoke during our sessions and he didn’t put the bud all the way out when he flicked it… and the garage caught fire.”

Felix and Jisung saw how Hyunjins’ hands were trembling and they both grabbed one hand each and Hyunjin took another deep breath.

“And… yeah,” Hyunjin sighed. “The garage was totally destroyed. All our instruments were charred.” He shook his head and squeezed their hands. “I just… We started fighting and blaming each other afterwards and, eventually, we stopped playing together. And stopped being friends.”

Jisung was about to reply but Felix beat him to it. “We’re still friends with you, Hyunjin,” Felix replied. Jisung and Hyunjin looked at Felix astounded. Felix didn’t seem to notice though.

“That seems to have really had an affect on you though,” Jisung added. 

“It was pretty traumatic,” Hyunjin forced a laugh to alleviate the heavy tension in the room. “I guess I haven’t fully processed it either.” He squeezed their hands again. “Glad I have you guys though.”

“Of course,” Jisung grinned.

Felix nodded. “That’s what band mates are for.”

—

It’s Saturday. Two weeks after the fire incident.

Jisung is in the hotel room by himself since Felix went with Hyunjin to his first therapy session. He was surprised but also grateful at how much Felix and Hyunjin have been bonding recently. He’s not exactly sure what or who initiated it first, but Jisung tries not to overthink it. He’s just glad they don’t hate each other.

One thing he isn’t grateful for is the humidity of the room. Their air conditioning has been stuck on heat for the past few days. Minho promised to fix it, but it seems like every room on the third floor has the same problem. Just Jisung’s luck, they’re hotel is last on the waiting list for a new conditioner.

He’s already only wearing an undershirt and his guitar hero boxers from university, but he can still feel the sweat stains on his back. Jisung has been fanning his face with a few of his music sheets while working on the lyrics to the new song they were working on as a band. 

He jumped when he heard the telephone ring on the bedside table. Jisung groaned when he reached over and picked it up. There was only one person who called them on the landline. “Hyung,” Jisung grunted. “If this isn’t about the new AC unit, I’m hanging up—”

“You wouldn’t hang up on your very considerate boss like that,” Minho laughed with a hint of seriousness in his tone. Jisung immediately shut his mouth. “I ordered it. It’ll come by next Tuesday. But that’s not what I called. Can you shower and look decent? I have someone I want you to meet.”

Jisung rolled his eyes, the only thing he could do since Minho couldn’t see. “Yeah, I’ll put clothes on. This better not be a blind date.”

“It’s not,” Minho promised. “It’s much better. Trust me.”

Jisung wasn’t exactly sure to expect when he rode the elevator down to the lobby. The only thing he confirmed is that Minho wanted him to meet someone. He hopes he looks dressed enough. When Minho said “look decent,” Jisung interpreted that as black denim jeans and a clean hoodie. He sees Minho on the couch facing the elevator when he walks out of it and him talking to another person on the couch facing away from Jisung. 

Minho and Jisung made eye contact and Minho grinned, waving him over. Jisung walked slowly and the other person turned their head and gave a small smile as Jisung sat next to Minho.

“Perfect timing!” Minho exclaimed. He put his arm around Jisung’s shoulder, something he rarely does. Jisung assumes he’s doing this to show the guest that they have a more friend-friend relationship rather than a boss-worker one. Jisung would beg to differ, but he decides not to push Minho away. “This is Seungmin,” Minho introduces. 

Seungmin smiles again and reaches out his hand to greet Jisung, Jisung reaches over and is shocked at the firm grip and shake that Seungmin offers. When they pull back, Jisung secretly massages his hand on his side. “Nice to meet you,” Jisung nods.

“Likewise,” Seungmin nodded.

Minho hummed. “I found you a drummer!” He put both hands on Jisung’s shoulders and shook him a bit. “No need to thank me! And lucky you, you don’t need to share another bed with someone. Seungmin lives close by.”

Jisung blinked, a bit surprised at the sudden turn of events. He leaned over to Minho when Seungmin excused himself to use the bathroom. “Hyung, you can’t just  _ tell _ someone that they can join our band! We haven’t even seen him play. We don’t know his skills!”

“He’s good,” Minho commented. “I saw him play for a band at Chan’s place a few times, but he said their band called it quits so he’s been looking for another band to play for. I told him you guys don’t have a drummer yet.”

“Just because we don’t have a drummer, doesn’t mean we aren’t good as a three-person band,” Jisung frowned.

“What about a drummer?” Felix asked. Jisung practically fell off of his seat and Minho jumped at the sudden low-voice behind them. Felix and Hyunjin chuckled at the sight. 

“You almost gave me a heart attack!” Jisung whined as he pulled himself back onto the couch. “How was therapy?”

Hyunjin shrugged with his hands still in his pocket. “It was…good,” he shyly replied. “I see my therapist again next week. Same time.” Jisung nodded and Hyunjin smiled. “Anyway, what was this about a drummer?”

“That would be me,” Seungmin chimed in as he walked back from the bathroom, scaring Jisung again who fell onto the floor once more. Everyone laughed and Jisung frowned embarrassed before Felix helped him back onto the couch. “Sorry about that,” Seungmin apologized before sitting back in his seat. 

"So you're our drummer?" Hyunjin asked.

" _ Potential _ drummer," Jisung corrected. Hyunjin and Felix didn't seem to hear him though.

Seungmin hummed with a humble shrug. "My band broke up recently. I didn't want to give up playing."

Hyunjin and Felix sat on either side of Minho and Jisung on the couch, as if all four of them were interviewing Seungmin. "What made you guys split?" Felix asked.

"Money," Seungmin sighed with a shake of his head. "Turns out our singer has been stealing our savings for LSD." The four hissed with a grimace of their face and Seungmin nodded. "Yeah. Pretty bad. The other members just went back home, so it's just me in the city. By myself…"

Hyunjin frowned. "So you don't want to live with us?"

Jisung looked at Hyunjin shocked. "He hasn't even auditioned!"

"I have my own studio nearby anyway," Seungmin added.

"And I told you, he's good!" Minho repeated. "Look, you three have a set tonight, right? Try a cover song with Seungmin. I think it'd be a big hit."

"Do you have any covers in mind?" Seungmin asked. 

Jisung sat in the middle of everyone discussing their favourite songs to cover as he was in his head. He didn't doubt Seungmin's playing abilities. He was probably really good for the band, maybe even better than their own skill levels. However, he was just worried that it might cause more tension like it had between Felix and Hyunjin.

Felix noticed Jisung's silence and reached over to squeeze his arm. Jisung looked at Felix who offered a comforting smile. "You good?"

"Yeah," Jisung lied. He nodded and patted Felix's hand on his arm. "Yeah, I'm good." He looked over at Seungmin as the conversation had died down. "You free now? We can find a cover to learn for the last song in our set."

"Atta boy!" Minho cheered as he shook Jisung excitedly, causing Jising to whine and the other three to snicker. He patted Jisung's back as he stood up and patted the others' shoulders. "I'll leave you to it. Stage is already prepared. Let me know if you need me to kick out any fans," he winked before returning to the front desk.

The four of them stood up and Jisung noticed the drum pad and sticks in the backpack that Seungmin was carrying. He pouted, realizing that this guy was the real deal. He walked slower than the other three since that pout didn't leave his face when he saw Felix wrap his arm around Seungmin's shoulder  _ friendlier _ than expected.

  
  
  


The thunder roared outside the hotel window and the three bandmates jumped at how loud it was. Seungmin didn't jump though, probably because he's used to noises such as grandious booms. Hyunjin stood up and closed the curtains so that they could focus on their cover song.

Jisung smiled to thank Hyunjin before turning his attention back to Seungmin and Felix who seemed a little  _ too _ close for comfort. They just met Seungmin a few hours ago, yet here he was clicking immediately with Hyunjin and Felix. Jisung wasn't even sure how it happened, but he was dumbfounded with how fast it occurred. 

Not only that, every sound that wasn't instrumentals bothered Jisung at the moment. They could hear the constant arguing upstairs from the usual neighbours who had their television too loud. Jisung could even hear Jeongin intervening and threatening to call Minho hyung because of all the commotion.

He quickly snapped out of it when Seungmin waved his hand in front of him. "Jisung?" he asked. "Did you hear what Hyunjin said?" Jisung blinked and shook his head timidly. "Well, he suggested we do a Green Day song," he reiterated.

Jisung whistled. "The grandfathers of punk rock."

"Only way to honor them," Hyunjin snickered.

Felix grinned widely. Jisung knew one of Felix's all-time favourite bands is Green Day. Of course Jisung was all for it. "I'm thinking of covering 'Basket Case.'"

Seungmin gasped and quickly reached out to squeeze Felix's arm, but to Jisung's dismay. "Bro, it's like you read my mind." They high fived with their free hands and giggled together. "It's a classic!"

"My national anthem!" Felix jokes.

Hyunjin laughed along with the other two before seeing Jisung in his peripheral pouting. Jisung excused himself with the lie that he was gonna go look for Jeongin to ask for fresh towels for the shower rounds tonight. Hyunjin knew this was just an excuse because Jisung only took his showers in the morning and Hyunjin and Felix took showers in the afternoon.

Hyunjin noticed that the other two didn't seem to catch onto Jisung's weird behaviour and excused himself as well. He walked out of the room with the spare room key in his back pocket. Even though Jisung got quite ahead of him, Hyunjin managed to see him take the elevator down to the lobby, most likely to get a drink at the bar to calm himself down. Hyunjin opted to take the stairs down in order to beat Jisung downstairs. They were only on the third floor anyway.

Jisung walked into the bar and was shocked to see Hyunjin already there, waiting for him at the bar stool with two beers on the counter top. Jisung scrunched his nose as Hyunjin snickered and patted the empty seat for Jisung.

“You catch on too quick,” Jisung grumbled as he sat down and took the beer in hand and took a quick sip from it. Hyunjin just hummed at his accomplishment before Jisung spoke again. “I don’t doubt he’s good.”

“He looks like a really good drummer,” Hyunjin agreed. He watched Jisung take a longer sip of the beer before he took a sip of his own. “But what about him don’t you like?”

Jisung frowned as he made eye contact with Hyunjin. “Gosh… I don’t know. I feel like a hypocrite acting blindsighted to how Felix hated you at first.” Hyunjin snickered. That’s all he could do now considering how close him and Felix are now. Jisung shook his head. “I’m not sure. I don’t… like his vibe? I don’t like his smile? I—”

“Don’t like he clicked so well with Felix?” Hyunjin suggested. Jisung tightened his lips together in a straight line before looking away. “Or maybe you’re just jealous.”

“Jealous?” Jisung’s eyes widened in disbelief. Hyunjin nodded. “Impossible,” Jisung scoffed. “I’m not the jealous type.”

Hyunjin adjusted himself in his seat and hummed as he took another sip. “That’s true,” he nodded, “but maybe Felix just  _ is _ your type.” Jisung immediately looked over at Hyunjin. Hyunjin didn’t turn his head, but he knows that Jisung was blushing after he said that. “I said what I said.”

Jisung stayed silent and chugged the rest of his beer since he was so flustered; Hyunjin couldn’t help but laugh. Jisung whined after slamming the bottle onto the counter before leaning his cheek on the counter as well. “Is it obvious?”

“I mean… I think me, Minho hyung, Jeongin, Chan hyung, and even Seungmin could see how much you guys like each other. But I don’t think  _ you _ both know how much you both like each other.”

Jisung lifted his head. “He… he likes me back?”

Hyunjin whistled. “Wow, you two really  _ are _ dumb and dumber, huh?” he joked. Jisung pursed his lip as Hyunjin finished the beer. “You even talk to him about it? Your feelings and all? I think it would help you two a lot.”

“Help how?”

There was a moment of silence as Hyunjin sat there before he leaned over and flicked Jisung’s forehead with his middle finger. Jisung winced and Hyunjin rolled his eyes. “Dude. Why did you think Felix was jealous of you hanging out with me?”

Jisung rubbed his forehead and shrugged his shoulders. “Because you could destroy our band?”

“No, stupid!” Hyunjin groaned. “Because he likes you too!” He leaned his body against the counter and shook his head. “Gosh, you two really  _ are _ oblivious to each other’s feelings. And you’ve guys have been together for a long time.”

Jisung sat up and mimicked Hyunjin’s position. “Yeah,” he sighed in agreement. “Maybe that’s why we never acted upon it… we don’t want to mess with what we’ve had. And we’ve gone through a lot already as friends and as band mates. I don’t want to ruin all of that for some silly little feelings, you know?” Jisung confessed.

“I get it,” Hyunjin nodded. He leaned over and patted Jisung’s back in encouragement. “But you’ll continue to go through things with him. And me. And now Seungmin. You don’t think we’ll help you guys along the way? You don’t think you can handle it? I think you guys can. I think  _ we _ can.”

Jisung let out a small chuckle. “Why do you make it sound like we’re all in this together, huh?”

“Because we kind of are,” Hyunjin shrugged. “But seriously. Talk to him. You might not ruin everything after all.”

They sat next to each other in a comfortable silence and Jisung exhaled in relief. He mumbled a thank you to Hyunjin for the beer and the pep-talk and Hyunjin rubbed his back in reply as a way of saying “you’re welcome.”

—

It’s Sunday morning. Eight o’clock to be exact.

Nobody is ever up this early amongst the band members, especially considering their sleeping schedule. But today, Jisung and Felix are awake, dressed ‘decently,’ and downstairs in the bar for an early breakfast. Together. Just the two of them.

Hyunjin was still asleep and neither Jisung nor Felix woke him up since he was up all night celebrating at a job well done as a four-person group. 

Everyone was surprised at how well-liked they were with the new addition of Seungmin as the drummer. Minho surprised the band even more by providing a drum set for them as well. (He even offered to keep in at the lounge for them to practice with. The guys know that as much as Minho is very money and business talk that he cares about them and supports their livelihood. They are forever grateful.)

Jisung and Felix were quiet as they sat across from each other at the table. They both opted to enjoy the continental breakfast the hotel provided everyday. It usually closes at 9:30 in the morning, which is way earlier than the band members wake up, so it’s very rare they get to enjoy this hotel accommodation.

Felix was stirring the cream and sugar into his coffee as Jisung was dipping the tea bag in his cup of hot water. It was quiet. But not an awkward quiet. It was never an awkward quiet between the two of them. Always comforting.

“Are you gonna toast a bagel?” Felix asked Jisung, breaking the silence. Jisung looked up from his tea as Felix stood up. “Well, even if you aren’t I’m going to so I’ll get you one too,” Felix answered himself. Jisung smiled and nodded as he watched Felix walk over to the pastries.

Jisung sighed to himself and patted his cheeks gently. He couldn’t sleep last night. Not only because of the awesome feedback, but because him and Felix stayed up all night talking. Not about anything in particular, just about anything that is anything. It’s been a while since they’ve had nights of late-night silly conversations, and they’ve missed having it with each other. They’ve missed having time together. Just the two of them. 

Felix came back with two toasted bagels with a container of cream cheese. Jisung smiled and thanked Felix. Felix nodded back and it returned back to that comforting silence.

Funnily enough, they didn’t talk about their feelings last night. Jisung wanted to, like he had talked about with Hyunjin, but he didn’t want to bring it up. He felt like he didn’t have to bring it up because he thinks that Felix and him could read each other’s thoughts with how they were giggling like they were teenagers again and they kept linking their pinkies together. They even shared the bed together since Hyunjin and Seungmin (who crashed their room) shared Jisung’s usual bed.

Jisung woke up to Felix sleeping next to him and it was such a sight to wake up to. He felt his heart flutter already the moment his eyes opened. It was so early in the morning and Jisung couldn’t help but reach over for Felix’s hand and squeeze it. Surprisingly, Felix squeezed it back and slowly opened his eyes. They greeted each other good morning and started talking again before Jisung’s stomach growl interrupted them. That’s when they decided to eat breakfast at a ‘normal’ time.

“Do you think Hyung is ever going to include an American style breakfast?” Felix asked as he spread the cream cheese on his bagel.

Jisung looked up after stuffing a couple berries into his mouth. “Possibly?” he shrugged. “He said that he’s been getting more foreign guests so that might be good for his reputation and all.”

“I think he should offer an Australian style breakfast,” Felix suggested. He sipped his coffee and blinked when Jisung just giggled. “What?”

“Australian breakfasts are much more bougie than American ones. Maybe suggest that to Hyung instead,” Jisung grinned. Felix blushed and nodded in agreement. They stopped talking again before Felix reached over and grabbed Jisung’s free hand and squeezed it again. Jisung looked up and squeezed it back before they shared a smile. “You think we should bring up food to the other guys?”

“That’d be nice of us, wouldn’t it?” Jisung snickered, earning a snicker from Felix as well. “By the way,” he hummed, “let’s go for a walk tonight? Just the two of us? Hyunjin said he needed to discuss a few things with Minho hyung about stage equipment. And Seungmin needs to buy new drumsticks before our next gig in a few days.”

Felix smiled. “That’d be nice. It’s been a while since we went for a walk.” They continued to eat and enjoy small talk with each other, all the while still holding hands. 

They’ve gone through so much, especially with the recent additions of a bassist and now a drummer, but they’re pretty grateful for what they’ve been through as well. Both Jisung and Felix were pretty excited for what the future had to offer them, especially with the possibilities of touring around more since Chan spread the word around to other restaurant owners about how great their full band is now. It’s amazing how far they’ve come together as individuals, a band, and as a pair. 


End file.
